Peter and John, emails sent....
Nice work Hans! Like I said, powdercoating is going to be my final destination but this cleaning will do for now. Here's the original post from Dmark over on the corvette forum on how to git 'er dunn.
My engine was stained and dirty. First I wiped it down with a wet rag to get the loose dirt off. Then I dried it off with paper shop towels. I used Mother's Mag Polish & 0000 steelwool and about 2-3 hours of finger rubbing. The stains are gone and the entire engine has a glossy gray finish to it now. Thanks, all those years of tax-payer funded training to shine boots & polish brass sometimes can be put to good use!
BTW, I learned about the Mother Polish & 0000 steelwool idea on this forum.
My final step is the following (folks with weak hearts may wish to stop reading now).
- After doing the polish on the engine I clean the ENTIRE engine bay.
- On a COLD Engine.
- I cover the engine with a plastic drop cloth.
- Next I take Simple Green and spray everything down.
- Let the simple Green soak for 3-5 minutes (don't let it dry).
- LIGHTLY spray off the Simple Green with water.
- Repeat the Simple Green Soak 3-5 minutes.
- LIGHTLY spray off the Simple Green with water again.
- With everything still wet, remove the drop cloth from the engine.
- Wipe the engine down with a wet towel, getting the engine surfaces moist.
- With everything still wet .., [U]SOAK THE ENTIRE ENGINE & ENGINE BAY with Armour All!!!!!!
- Drop the hood, Get in the car and drive for 15 minutes.
- Open the hood and EVERYTHING will be clean with a low gloss shine.
I'll been doing this for years with every car I own. I have never, ever had any problems so long as I didn't get water into any areas (electrical) where it could be trapped and not "burnoff" during the 15 minute drive. Even on my Daily Drivers, this method will keep everything looking like new for several months.
Trust Me!
DMark